We kick off the class coverage of our fifth Custom Contest with the Basic class, which requires the custom to keep its original paint and allows only modifications to said paint, wheelswapping, general detailing, changes to the stance of the car, addition of accesories and very small changes to the body or chassis to accommodate accessories if necessary.

As stated in our rulebook, every class was judged under the principle that the participating customs had to stick to the contest’s theme, which in this case was “America”, wich only allowed castings that depicted cars of this region of the world. Having said that, we leave you with the entries for this class and their customizers in alphabetic order. Down below you’ll find the winners of the first three places, with a small photoshoot of each, as well as commentary from our judges regarding why they won.

Judges comment: Even if it was one of the simplest customs in the class, Gavrik’s Blazer was just about perfect in its concept as a light off roading truck. The clean general detailing in the roof rack and interior gave it a lot of life, while the quite grotesque original chassis was somewhat disguised with the flat black paint. The Matchbox wheels, more traditional than the ones it originally came with, compliment well the very 80s stripes of the paint job. If Gavrik had deleted the Hot Wheels logo on the roof, this thing would have been perfect.

Judges comment: We created this class for the customizers to fully realize the potential of a car, and Tito’s ’32 perfectly epitomizes the spirit of Basic: a basically perfect casting with basically perfect paint, that just needed changes as simple as a wheel swap –from 90s billet wheels to traditional Halibrands- and a red interior. That’s all the work it has, and its all it needed to become a perfect, timeless hot rod.

Judges comment: Romher took the class with a car that, even if it doesn’t have a really defined concept –read: lowrider, custom, street rod- that is precisely what gives it its charm, that it looks like it rolled off the dealer lot 55 years ago. Details like the light blue interior, white roof and white wall tires –off a Hot Wheels 100%, no less- give the idea that this was a top-trim Impala. Even if the execution left a bit to be desired –it had little things like not having a tail-light painted- Romher cheated on us by saying that it was the classic case of the grampa-daily-driven car that is still in his hands, more or less well kept, but it’s starting to show the ravages of time. And we’re suckers for survivors.